09.11.23
An Indorama Company
Tel Aviv, Israel
www.avgol.com
2022 Nonwoven Sales: $450 million (estimated)
Key Personnel
Shachar Rachim, CEO Indorama Ventures
Plants
Israel, North Carolina, China, Russia, India
Major Markets
Hygiene, medical
At the end of 2022, Avgol announced it would add a state-of-the-art, high speed Reicofil 5 line at its Mocksville, NC facility. It will be the company’s sixth line at the site, which was first acquired in 2001. According to executives, the addition of the new line will allow the company to have greater production capacity, delivering bicomponent materials that are ‘Made in America’ and offering more sustainable options for the growing North America market and around the world. This additional new line also enables the Mocksville facility to deliver additional meltblown nonwovens, ensuring it has extra capacity to meet market demand.
According to industry sources the investment represents a line originally planned for Uzlovaya, Russia, which was announced in June 2021 as part of a three-line investment at the site prior to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Meanwhile, at its other global sites—in China, Israel and India—Avgol continues to upgrade and improve its operations. Notably, its biotransformation technology—developed with Polymateria—is being globally implemented in collaboration with key brands across various industries. This technology offers unique functionality allowing a conventional nonwoven fabric to be modified to react to certain triggers to then begin a cascade, and importantly a fundamental chemical transformation of the polymer resin into a wax that is readily degraded by natural bacteria, microbes and fungi normally found in the environment.
Earlier this year, Avgol parent company Indorama Ventures and Polymateria received the World of Wipes Innovation Award for technology, which can create completely biodegradable wipes that leave no harmful substance or microplastics behind.
Through its 10-year partnership agreement Polymateria, Indorama Ventures is applying Polymateria’s unique biotransformation technology to fibers and spunmelt nonwovens. Biotransformation is the world’s first biodegradation technology that is capable of delivering full biological consumption of Polyolefin products in the open terrestrial environment. Polyolefin-based materials produced by this technology are especially useful for applications where materials may be leaked into the environment as unmanaged waste.
“Once triggered, the material will continue to the point of forming the low molecular weight wax structure, leaving no microplastics behind to cause environmental problems,” explains Shachar Rachim, CEO of parent company Indorama Ventures. “Moreover, if the product comprising the biotransformation technology is not exposed to the triggering conditions of sunlight, heat, air and moisture, then it can be recycled by readily available means.”
In other partnership news, last year, Avgol forged a partnership with YanJanSA LLC, a professional material supplier to the disposable hygiene products market, to deliver exclusive product offerings to the North American market. Under the terms of the partnership, Avgol offers apertured spunbond products made exclusively by YanJan USA while YanJan USA uses base spunbond materials exclusively supplied by Avgol. The partners each develop and manufacture products tailored to their skill set and to meet customer needs while allowing each company to diversify their overall product ranges.
Tel Aviv, Israel
www.avgol.com
2022 Nonwoven Sales: $450 million (estimated)
Key Personnel
Shachar Rachim, CEO Indorama Ventures
Plants
Israel, North Carolina, China, Russia, India
Major Markets
Hygiene, medical
At the end of 2022, Avgol announced it would add a state-of-the-art, high speed Reicofil 5 line at its Mocksville, NC facility. It will be the company’s sixth line at the site, which was first acquired in 2001. According to executives, the addition of the new line will allow the company to have greater production capacity, delivering bicomponent materials that are ‘Made in America’ and offering more sustainable options for the growing North America market and around the world. This additional new line also enables the Mocksville facility to deliver additional meltblown nonwovens, ensuring it has extra capacity to meet market demand.
According to industry sources the investment represents a line originally planned for Uzlovaya, Russia, which was announced in June 2021 as part of a three-line investment at the site prior to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Meanwhile, at its other global sites—in China, Israel and India—Avgol continues to upgrade and improve its operations. Notably, its biotransformation technology—developed with Polymateria—is being globally implemented in collaboration with key brands across various industries. This technology offers unique functionality allowing a conventional nonwoven fabric to be modified to react to certain triggers to then begin a cascade, and importantly a fundamental chemical transformation of the polymer resin into a wax that is readily degraded by natural bacteria, microbes and fungi normally found in the environment.
Earlier this year, Avgol parent company Indorama Ventures and Polymateria received the World of Wipes Innovation Award for technology, which can create completely biodegradable wipes that leave no harmful substance or microplastics behind.
Through its 10-year partnership agreement Polymateria, Indorama Ventures is applying Polymateria’s unique biotransformation technology to fibers and spunmelt nonwovens. Biotransformation is the world’s first biodegradation technology that is capable of delivering full biological consumption of Polyolefin products in the open terrestrial environment. Polyolefin-based materials produced by this technology are especially useful for applications where materials may be leaked into the environment as unmanaged waste.
“Once triggered, the material will continue to the point of forming the low molecular weight wax structure, leaving no microplastics behind to cause environmental problems,” explains Shachar Rachim, CEO of parent company Indorama Ventures. “Moreover, if the product comprising the biotransformation technology is not exposed to the triggering conditions of sunlight, heat, air and moisture, then it can be recycled by readily available means.”
In other partnership news, last year, Avgol forged a partnership with YanJanSA LLC, a professional material supplier to the disposable hygiene products market, to deliver exclusive product offerings to the North American market. Under the terms of the partnership, Avgol offers apertured spunbond products made exclusively by YanJan USA while YanJan USA uses base spunbond materials exclusively supplied by Avgol. The partners each develop and manufacture products tailored to their skill set and to meet customer needs while allowing each company to diversify their overall product ranges.